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                  <p class="p_Heading1"><span class="f_Heading1">Initial</span></p>



  
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                <p class="p_TextIndentedL2"><img src="d_initial.png" width="60" height="70" border="0" alt="d_Initial"></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The</span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;"> Initial</span><span class="f_BodyText"> element is used by <a href="activitydiagram.htm">Activity</a> and <a href="statediagram.htm">State Machine</a> diagrams. In Activity diagrams, it defines the start of a flow when an </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="activity.htm">Activity</a></span><span class="f_BodyText"> is invoked. With State Machines, the Initial element is a <a href="pseudo_states.htm">pseudo-state</a> used to denote the default state of a </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="compositestate.htm">Composite State</a></span><span class="f_BodyText">; there can be one Initial vertex in each </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="region.htm">Region</a></span><span class="f_BodyText"> of the Composite State.</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">This simple example shows the start of a flow to receive an order.</span></p>
<p class="p_TextIndentedL2"><img src="activity%20-%20initial.png" width="229" height="71" border="0" alt="Activity - Initial"></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">See </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">UML Superstructure Specification, v2.1.1, Figure 12.97, p. 378</span><span class="f_BodyText">.</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The activity flow is completed by a <a href="final.htm">Final</a> or <a href="flowfinal.htm">Flow Final</a> node.</span></p>
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<td valign="bottom" width="952" bgcolor="#efeff7" style="width:952px; background-color:#efeff7;"><p class="p_TiporNote" style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none;"><span class="f_TiporNote">Note:</span></p>
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<td width="952" bgcolor="#f7f7ff" style="width:952px; background-color:#f7f7ff;"><p class="p_TiporNoteText"><span class="f_TiporNoteText">Moving a diagram generally does not affect the location of elements in packages. If you move a diagram out of one package into another, all the elements in the diagram remain in the original package. However, Initial elements are used only within one diagram, have no meaning outside that diagram, and are never re-used in any other diagram. Therefore, if you move a diagram containing these elements, they </span><span class="f_TiporNoteText" style="font-weight: bold;">are</span><span class="f_TiporNoteText"> moved to the new parent package with the diagram.</span></p>
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<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">OMG UML Specification</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The OMG UML specification (</span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">UML Superstructure Specification, v2.1.1, p. 537</span><span class="f_BodyText">) states:</span></p>
<p class="p_OMGText"><span class="f_OMGText">An initial pseudostate represents a default vertex that is the source for a single transition to the default state of a composite state. There can be at most one initial vertex in a region. </span><span class="f_OMGText">The outgoing transition from the initial vertex may have a behavior, but not a trigger or guard.</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The OMG UML specification (</span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">UML Superstructure Specification, v2.1.1, p. 378</span><span class="f_BodyText">) also states:</span></p>
<p class="p_OMGText"><span class="f_OMGText">An initial node is a control node at which flow starts when the activity is invoked.</span></p>




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